Topic > Nature in To Build a Fire by Jack London - 669

People always tell you to listen to your instincts. However, everything goes wrong for the poor character in To Build a Fire by Jack London (1876-1916) when he wants to trust his instincts. In the story, a mountain man explains to him how dangerous it is to venture out alone in incredibly frigid circumstances. Being the confident man that he is, he didn't listen to the advice. It soon turns into the story of one man's lonely road to try to survive. He finds a silent companion who can't seem to help him. Then he falls into a weak spot and gets wet up to his knees. He knew he was in danger and had to light the fire quickly. However, bad luck came when we were making a fire and snow fell on it. He then had to rush to build a new one, but to no avail. His fingers were too cold to rekindle a fire, so there was nothing he could do. There are three reasons why the theme that nature is more powerful than is sometimes assumed works so well in Jack London's To Build a Fire. The first reason why the theme of man versus nature works so well in Jack London's To Build a Fire is because of the setting. There aren't many people who would jump at the idea of ​​being alone in the woods in temperatures well below freezing. However the character in this story doesn't seem to have much of a problem with this. He is very confident in his abilities to deal with the outdoors, without other companions. Except for a companion he meets along the way, a dog. The dog is very quiet and goes ahead and watches the man trying to survive when the worst happens. The man had previously been warned by a veteran about how nature can make things more difficult. However, he did not listen to the man and later learned throughout the story that it was a terrible mistake. The setting of the story was something that people didn't connect with. “But circulation in wet, free feet cannot be restored by running when it is seventy-five degrees below zero.” (Page 605) Many people can die easily when it's so cold outside, making the setting of the story a problem that needed to be solved.